


Painting the Stars

by TotallynotFanfics



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Artist Keith (Voltron), Astronomer Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Slow Burn, klangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-10 22:18:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11135787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotallynotFanfics/pseuds/TotallynotFanfics
Summary: TEMPORARY HIATUS!!!!Lance is forced to join his schools 'Campus Buddy' program as a favour to his friend Shiro, and never expected he would be made to partner with someone as socially awkward, yet completely adorable as Keith Kogane.OR///Astronomer Lance catches feelings for Artist Keith and they struggle with their new emotions.





	1. Late Meetings

Lance McClain lurches forward gasping. A cold sweat blanketing his body like dew on an early spring morning. He moves his head sorely to the left, looking at the luminous red numbers overlapping the screen of his alarm clock. 

9:23

Fuck. 

He bolts out of his bed, his long skinny frame completely exhausted, mind buzzing. As even though he technically had gotten plenty of rest, having slept in way later than the 9:30 meeting time that was planned allotted for, he knew it had been an evening of unrestful, nightmare fueled sleep. However, the young student was already aware that he didn't even have time to get properly dressed, let alone ponder on his dreams from the night before. So after grabbing the cleanest pair of pant's he could find off the floor, which ended up being an old washed out pair he had owned for years, the ones that had a curious blue stain just above the knee. He threw his favourite vintage style, green jacket over the same shirt he slept in. Then grabbed his pack and quickly went out the door. 

Making use of the long legs he had possessed since early puberty, he walked/ran towards the commons as quick as his sore body would allow, praying he would not be so late as to warrant another lecture about responsibility from Shiro or a disappointed look from his long time best friend Hunk. A look of disheartenment from Hunk always managed to overflow Lance with guilt, and his friend knew it. 

Lance approached the doors of the communal area after about 10 minutes. A large living-room style gathering place awaited him on the other side of the thick wooden doors. The area was nice enough; a couple of couches, a few gaming consoles, and a pool table that often beckoned students to come down and take time out of their studies to relax and make friends. Though the area wasn't one of Lance's favourite areas to spend his free time anymore, he still remembers the late nights and fun he and Hunk used to have there when they were still starry-eyed freshmen. 

Taking a deep breath Lance pushes open the door. They slowly push forward, making a terrible squeaking noise as he enters. Lance looks around to see 30 or more heads turn towards him, probably all wondering who would show up 15 minutes late to an orientation meeting on the first day. 

With an awkward smile and a tiny wave towards the curious eyes, Lance spots Shiro and Hunk both standing at the back of the room. He approaches them, trying to ignore their annoyed looks as he leans against a wall and focused his eyes on the professor at the front of the group.

Professor Coran, one of the... odder professors at the school, was an eccentric man who was passionate about his job and his students. He had always been one of Lance's favourite teachers (and he was sure the feeling was reciprocated). Lance had no doubts that Coran had probably volunteered to help out with the new students today, that's just the kind of teacher he was. 

Coran finishes off some tangent about the safety systems in the dorms and how to avoid accidentally setting them off, a warning that seems to have been driven from personal experience, before turning towards where Lance is standing. "Ah, Shiro!" Coran excitedly points in their direction before waving the tall older student over. "Would you Mind leading the discussion on our buddy program for me?" Shiro with a smile accepts and begins addressing the audience about the future happenings. 

Lance stands in the audience, and despite giving zero fucks about the whole program and presentation in general, finds himself captivated by every word coming out of Shiro's mouth. The man had this aura that just oozed leader, his presence commanded respect and his voice was laced with a tone of authority. On top of that, he was not at all bad to look at. 

Shiro had approached him in freshman year. 

Having already taken Calculus in high school, Lance had automatically been put into advanced Calc when he got to university, and quickly found himself surrounded by sophomores he knew nothing about. Most of the older students in the class just chose to ignore him, and to most that wouldn't seem too bad. But for Lance, it was hell. Lance had always been a social person, and being in a class 3 times a week where he felt completely alone for 2 plus hours a day, started to get to him. 

On a particularly bad morning, he had shown up to class looking absolutely destroyed. His hair was a disaster, he was wearing a sweater with rips and stains, and his eyes were red and bloodshot. All he had wanted was some human contact, a shoulder to cry on, someone to be just near. But he had to go to calculus that morning, and that fact had made Lance incredibly irritable. So much so that after a small argument with his Professor, he had stormed out of the classroom crying. 

Shiro followed him. 

And a friendship had been born. 

Lance looked up to Shiro after that and they spent every day in class together. Then Shiro was introduced to Hunk via Lance and the three quickly began to get along greatly. 

And Lance won't lie, he had developed somewhat of a small crush on his older friend since their first meeting. However, he had learned, after a few late night drunk conversations, that Shiro had been pining after this girl Allura in his year since he had started at the Garrison. Lance knew that his shots of getting with someone as great as Shiro were slim anyways. So he decided instead to cherish the friendship for what it was, and things have been fine since. 

"Lance?" A voice from across the room makes his head snap up, his mind being pulled quickly from his thoughts, and he see's that Shiro had called out to him. "Wh-? Hm, uh y-yes Shiro?" Lance clears his throat and straightens his back, a light blush covering his cheeks as he realises that he had not been paying attention at all. "You will be paired up with Keith, so take good care of my little brother alright?" 

Lance's attention is drawn slightly to the left as he see's someone standing next to the speaker. "C'mon Shiro." The boy, who Lance assumes is Keith, grumbles slightly with a pout at Shiro's words.

Lance tries to quickly observe Keith, hoping to take the boy in unnoticed. He is shorter than Lance is, but not by much, and his resemblance to Shiro is actually quite slim. They both have naturally black hair and dark eyes, with obvious Korean features, but that's where the resemblance mostly stops. Shiro has this kind of overpowering attractiveness to him. His large build, sharp features and kind eyes left any person, boy or girl, wishing to either be him or be with him. 

But Keith... 

Keith possessed this sort of light, reserved beauty to him. 

His skin was incredibly pale, the kind you get from many long days spent inside. It appeared untouched and unblemished, at least, what skin he had showing did. Dressed rather conservatively for the still quite warm early fall weather, he donned a red and black leather jacket. The coat was draped over a grey t-shirt, and he wore simple black skinny jeans, pants which hugged his assets quite nicely if Lance may say so. His facial features varied greatly from his brothers though. And even though Lance recalls Shiro telling him that he and his brother only shared one parent, he was not expecting them to look so, different. The younger boys face had far softer features than his older sibling, his jaw much less broad, more pointed. And then, his eyes. 

Keith's eyes had fire. They glowed with a kind of careful curiosity, daring but distant. It felt like at any moment he could strike and burn you. But at the same time, he could provide you with a comforting warmth. Like a campfire near the beach in summer. It drew Lance in, but also terrified him. 

After a few moments of uninterrupted gawking, Lance realised he had been staring straight at Keith's face for god knows how long, and Hunk was raising a curious eyebrow at him. 

"Lance? Did you hear what I said?" Shiro asks, his question directed at Lance. Interest as well as concern highlighting his voice and question. "Oh, uh, yup of course! I'm gonna be the best campus buddy Keith's ever had." Lance bounces back with a wink, his voice bubbly and cheerful as usual when he responds. "Yeah, because you're the only one I've had." Lance hears a light voice retort to his statement and after a second realises it was Keith. 

Oh, so that's how it is. 

Lance goes to try and come up with a quick comeback when, after a small laugh for the joke made at his expense, Shiro speaks up. "Seriously though, are you alright? You have been off since you got here." His voice is hushed, obviously trying to avoid the many listening ears of other students in the room. Even though most of the students in the room have begun to have their own small conversations, mostly with the 'buddies' they've been assigned, a few are still listening.

"Of course!" Lance lies with a big smile, punching Shiro's arm lightly. "I just didn't get much sleep last night, if y'know what I mean." Lance wiggles his eyebrows, the joke getting a chuckle out of Hunk, a scoff from Shiro, and a small groan from Keith.

"Is he always like this?" Keith looks up towards his brother, a slight look of distress on his face. Shiro laughs. "Yup, why do you think I picked him out for you?" He jeers towards Keith a small smirk on his face. 

"Better get used to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!! Thank you for reading! This is my first fic in a while (and first fic online) in over two years :/ so I'm sorry if anything seems weird or odd. 
> 
> Constructive criticism and feedback are always appreciated <3 
> 
> Also huge thanks to everyone who proofread, and then an even bigger thanks to Dylan (@wait_bro_you on insta) for helping me with typos and wording things!!!


	2. Tour's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance takes Keith on his mandated campus tour, and they both learn something they didn't know before.

A cool breeze brushes over Lance's exposed skin sending slight shivers throughout his body. The air has started to get far cooler at night, a warning from the earth itself that fall is coming, and with it, cold weather. With a small sigh, he rubs his hands together and turns his head slightly towards Keith.

As part of his 'Campus Buddy' duties, the first official task Lance had been given was to take Keith on a tour, preparing him for his new Garrison life that was only a week away. But of course, the whole tour had been going awfully.

Lance was chatty. Always had been and probably always will be. He thrived on attention and felt empty without it. But Keith, he was probably one of the most socially awkward people Lance had ever met.

When they were around the others, or more specifically when they were around Shiro, as Lance had so cleverly deduced, Keith was fine. He laughed along with the group's conversation, would make the occasional comment, and had even begun a bit of a banter back and forth with Lance. But after they had separated (Lance with Keith, Shiro off to do some dorm prep, and Hunk with his own new Campus Buddy Pidge.) Lance soon realised Keith was not much for conversation. So when Keith spoke up, initiating some dialogue with Lance for the first time since they had gone off alone, Lance was needless to say, surprised. 

"Um, Lance?" Keith's voice was a seemed unsure as he looked up and spoke to the taller boy.

"Hm? What's up?" He gives his full attention towards Keith, slowing their walking pace a little, matching a slower more comfortable pace with Keith. "I know you wanted to show me that cafe and all, but I uh- was hoping you could actually show me the building's for my classes first?" Lance feels stupid. Ridiculously stupid. Its just common sense that he should've done that by now. "Yeah! Of course!" He grins at Keith, hoping the embarrassment on his face isn't showing through. "Oh, did you get your class list though?"

Keith nods and opens his satchel-esque side bag, one that when Lance first saw it, personally thought seemed impractical and bulky. He begins to pull things out of his bag, balancing them awkwardly in his arms, still searching. Keith's eyebrows furrow and Lance manages to get himself to stop staring at the cute frustrated face he is making just long enough to offer to hold something. His arms are quickly filled with what appears to be various leather notebooks, pencil cases, and a small wooden oval thing, it's black and seems to have metal inside. Is that a...knife? But before Lance really gets a chance to investigate, he hears Keith let out a small noise of achievement and the stuff in his arms is quickly returned. Instead now holding a single slip of paper, with the Garrison school logo printed on the top left, and Keith's name on the right.

"Kogane?" Lance blurts out, not even thinking first. "But Shiro's last name is Takashi." Keith appears confused for just a moment, before a look of realisation washes over his face. "Oh we're half siblings, you knew that right?" Lance curtly nods, waiting. Keith continues. "So, even though we share a Mother, we have separate Father's, and we both took our Dad's name's."

"Oh." Lance turns his gaze back down at the paper. "Shiro never told me that."

His attention now focused on the schedule, Lance analyses the information on it for a second. The first building is easy enough, east wing. Lance had been to plenty of artsy fartsy parties that Shiro's friends sometimes threw over there. Those parties were absolute bashers. Plenty of drugs that Lance would pretend to get high on so his endless flirting with the other students could be excused if (or more like when if you asked Hunk) it failed. But something doesn't add up. All of Keith's classes are in the east wing. One class is no big thing, sometimes they move buildings because of class size but this? He looks up at Keith, then the sheet, then Keith, sheet, Kei-

"What is it?" Keith raises his voice a little, frustration obvious in his voice, curious as to why Lance is freaking out. 

"Are you sure this is your schedule?" Lance lifts an eyebrow with the question. Keith follows it with a scoff. "Well it has my name on it, doesn't it? "

"Well, yeah! But..." Lance trails off, still puzzled. "All of your classes are in the art wing!" Keith nods. "And?" He trails the word as if he's unsure as to the reason for Lances confusion.

"And!" Lance spouts. Keith waits. "And...you're living in my dorm, you know the science dorm? Where people who study science live! So I assumed you would be taking classes, in the science wing! " And then Keith laughs. He fucking laughs; as if Lance's actual frustration is some kind of joke, instead of legitimate confusion. And even though every fibre of Lance's body was saying to leave Keith, or punch him or do anything but stand there, he could not. As he was entrapped by the beauty that was Keith Kogane laughing. His head was tilted back, slightly exposing his slender neck. And the laughter itself tinkling as though it was made of melodic bells. His smile absolutely lighting up the world around them. And though the feeling of mockery and confusion left Lance more than angry, he didn't dare damage the beauty in front of him smiling in the low glow of the sunset. 

Keith slows, laughter stopping, but the glossy expression of post-cheer still resting on his face. His dark indigo eyes blink, with tears shining in the corners. A smile, ever so slowly fading off his face. 

Lance clears his throat, shoving his emotions to the back of his head for a moment. "Well, Jesus. I know that I'm funny, but to warrant that kind of laughter Keith? You need to get out more." Keith's smile drops for a second, and a smaller one replaces it just a moment later. "Yeah. I know. It was just... I mean...me? Science?" His eyes light up for just a moment. "The last time I stepped in a lab, someone needed a new shirt, and the school needed a new fire extinguisher." He stops, for a second. "I guess I just uh...thought it was obvious." 

Lance can't help but let out a small giggle at the idea of Keith panicking, running around a room after setting some poor guy on fire. "Okay fine," Lance says, though much less angry, still very much confused. "but I still don't get why you're staying in the science dorm."

"Well, you can thank Shiro for that." 

Lance raises an eyebrow, hoping that he doesn't need to use words to explain why that's not enough to clarify. "Okay, so. I'm sure you know that Shiro has quite a...presence on campus." Keith looks up to make sure Lance is following, and after being assured with a small nod of encouragement continues. "Um, and since Shiro knows I'm not good with new people or new places, his way of convincing me to go to post-secondary was by promising I could stay in the same dorm as him at least. So he pulled some strings and here we are." Keith see's that Lance has a small smile on his face, and is staring directly at him. His face flushes. "W-what?" Lance stops the eye-contact after Keith's comment. "Nothing. So then, why are you here anyways? I mean like, what are you studying?" 

"Oh uh, art?" Keith raises his voice as though it's a question instead of an answer. And Lance just feels dumb. Of course, it's art. All his classes are in the art wing. "Oh. That makes sense I guess." Lance says, suddenly stopping in his tracks. Keith tilts his head questioningly. With a clap of his hands. Lance faces Keith head on. 

"Well Keith, I hope you're ready because I am about to give you the most rapid-fire tour you have ever had." 

"What?" Keith exclaims his voice slightly pitchy from bewilderment at the sudden change in pace with the conversation. "Why?" 

"Why!" Lance throws his hands in the air as if what he had previously said had made the most sense in the world. "Because, my buddy," he throws his arm around Keith. "we have two hours till the cafe closes and I am not ending this night without getting some Hot Chocolate in you." He pokes Keith's chest lightly. Keith's heart fills with dread. 

"So are you ready?" 

"No." 

"Too Bad!" 

And after grabbing Keith's hand, as though it were the most nonchalant action in the world, he practically drags Keith down the path, away from the setting sun, and they make their way to the most dizzyingly rushed 45 minutes of Keith's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2! Hope you all enjoyed! :) I am going to try and keep updates regular, however, I do have exams coming up in the next couple weeks :/ Soooo no promises. Also thank you so much to everyone who commented and kudoo'd on the last chapter, it really made my day <3
> 
> I also wanted to give huge thanks to Dylan (@wait_bro_yo on insta) for beta reading this for me, and just overall being supportive of the fic.


	3. Coffee shop with a lack of filters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith finally get to the coffee shop Lance was talking about, awkward times and tension ensue.

A bell tinkles, announcing their arrival as the door to the cafe is pulled open quickly by Lance, causing a pleasant rush of warm air to burst out and greet them.

Pulling the door back till it’s fully opened, Lance steps back just a small amount. He moves the one arm that isn't holding the door in a sweeping motion towards it, and with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, looks at Keith.

"Ladies first." This pulls a groan out of Keith, but he walks in anyway. After a couple steps, he stops, now standing in the middle of the building. And with a pause, begins to take in the atmosphere and overall vibe of the cafe.

Instantly Keith gets a sense of comfort. The aged brick fireplace in the back corner, surrounded by a couch and a couple of armchairs, gives the area a feeling of real warmth, significantly different than the almost artificial one produced by a furnace. Glass windows line the wall near the door that he and Lance just walked through, and Keith is sure that during the day it gives the location a sense of freshness. But this late at night, at a time approaching the building's close, it makes the mood lazy and relaxed, and Keith feels as though this place will certainly become one of comfort for him in the months to come.

The open wall captivates him briefly as he observes it, providing a truly gorgeous view. Most of the campus beyond the window frames is dimly lit, impossible to make out well in the lighting available. And yet, the areas that are visible glow with a shimmering light, as if they are being painted by the rays of light coming from down the stars dancing in the night sky above. The buildings further away contrast black against the navy sky, with the occasional rectangle glowing with yellow, white, or a soft orange, indicating another soul that's awake with them. Keith is in love with the view, his mind racing with all the ways he could imprint the sight onto a canvas.

He is tempted to pull out his sketch book right there, arm instinctively flinching for his bag, but not wanting to get made fun of by Lance, he refrains.

He breathes in. The smell of coffee and something sweet is in the air. He feels a presence next to him.

Lance looks up at the chalkboards above the till. His face is focused, and Keith is acutely aware of the arm hanging a mere inch away from his. A girl, seemingly preoccupied with something, shouts that she'll be with them as soon as she can. Keith wonder's for a moment if she is the only one working. It is late, after all.

"So," Lance turns his face down towards Keith, "feeling peckish, or do you just want a drink?" The question jumps starts his brain as Keith realises he hasn't thought at all about he actually wants from the cafe. So he turns his attention to look at the display case. Appearing fairly barren, many of the metal baskets behind the glass are empty. Likely, Keith assumes, after what was probably a full day of business. But a lone red velvet muffin grabs Keith's attention, making his mouth water. And with his newly salivated mouth, comes a loud noise of agreement from his stomach.

He looks up delicately, praying that somehow in this silent cafe, Lance didn't hear him. But the grin on Lance's face when they finally make eye contact, says it all. "Oh, I see." 

Keith groans, "Lanc-"

"Was I too fast for you today, Keith?" His voice raises. "Can't keep up with my pace? ‘Cause I can slow down if I'm too much for you to handle." The flirty tone that crept its way into Lance's voice, mixed with the sudden innuendo, quickly puts a light blush on their cheeks. This tints Lance’s ears red, and starts a pink flush down Keith's neck.

Panic flashes over Lance's eyes, and embarrassment and anger floods Keith’s face.

The newfound awkward air between them shuts Lance up and keeps Keith from replying, leaving them in a silence that feels as though it is going to last an eternity.

Finally, after both of them painfully avoiding speaking again, Lance goes to say something, but quickly halts at the sound of a throat clearing. Both of their heads snap towards the source of the noise, and they see the girl from before standing behind the counter awkwardly. "I, um, I can help you now. If you're ready?"

Lance, without hesitating, bolts to the register where she is standing and begins to make his order. Some latte-frappa-whatever, that requires far too many words to be said for a single beverage. Pointing at something in the display, he seems to finish up his order, and fishes for his wallet. But instead of paying and freeing up the till like Keith expects him to, he simply looks over and raises his eyebrows expectantly.

"W-what?" Voice crack and stutter. Jesus, Keith, are you twelve? Thankfully, possibly as a silent apology for the awkward joke he had made earlier, Lance ignores the fumbled words that just fell ungraciously out of Keith's mouth. "Well," he says looking at Keith, and then the boards, "what do you want? I'm paying." Keith feels his mouth drop like a gaping fish but closes it quickly. Maybe Lance wasn't as self-centered as he had originally thou-

"After all, gotta look good in front of the lady."

Or maybe not.

Keith gives his order, keeping it simple, with a small hot chocolate to accompany his muffin. Lance then pays, giving a cheesy smolder-esque look towards the girl. Before heading to the area with the fire, Keith trails him.

They sit down, Keith in a large, cushy armchair near the fire, and Lance spreading out comfortably on the couch near the window. They sit in a silence, this one far more comfortable than the last, and Keith pulls out his phone to scroll through his Tumblr feed. They girl calls out their orders, and they both walk over to grab them, before slumping in the same spots as before.

Neither of them speaks, it doesn't feel necessary for some reason. So they sit and simply enjoy the warmth of the dying fire in one another's presence. Keith sips at his beverage, creamy, smooth and hot, he can feel his body melt into the chair as he drinks, his entire being becoming much calmer.

A few minutes, and a fantastic muffin later, the long silence is interrupted by Lance.

"They are beautiful, aren't they?" The wistful tone that leaves Lance's lips surprises Keith, his attention pulled towards the other boy. The sight he sees steals the breath from his lungs.

Lance is leaning back comfortably against the arm of the couch, his head rested upon his arm, which in turn is situated on the top part of the couch. His expression, one of serenity, is a state he didn't even know Lance was capable of. However, it suits him stupidly well. His blue eyes glow, reflecting the stars like a crystal lake, and his tan skin glows in the hot radiant light from the fire. Keith notices that Lance's collarbone and shoulders are dusted with freckles, and can't believe he didn't see that before.

And not only is he sitting there, being elegant and stunning, but his backdrop is, of course, the same starry campus Keith had fallen in love with only minutes ago.

Keith remembers suddenly that Lance had asked him a question. However, it appears that Lance does not. As though he hadn't said a word, Lance continues to gaze out the window, and Keith panics quietly.

He doesn't know what he is feeling. Or what to think. All he knows is that this is not what his heart beat should feel like. Knowing he needs to calm himself down, he reverts to the safety crutch he has relied on since he was a child and pulls out his sketch book.

He takes his pencil and connects it to the paper, beginning to sketch rough outlines of what he sees. Lance, completely engrossed in his thoughts, is one hundred percent oblivious to the busy work of the boy only a few feet away from him and simply continues his gazing.

But as the minutes go on and Lance's drink finally runs dry, he feels his eyelids grow heavy. With a low groan, he stretches his arms above his head before turning to get up off of his seated position.

"Don't move!" Lance is shocked from the sudden outburst of his companion, who till this point had been silent the entire span of their visit. So he freezes. He only dares to slowly move his head to look at the other boy after he feels assured he isn't about to get shot by a random sniper or jumped by some thug.

When Lance finally does dare to look at Keith he notices the other boy is fully flushed, not a single inch of his once pale skin isn't red. His face has is turned to the side, in obvious embarrassment. And his expression is focused, appearing as though he is trying to come up with an excuse for his sudden outburst, but none come to mind. Looking down Lance sees a pencil in one of Keith's hands, a small book in the other. After blinking in confusion for a couple moments he speaks up.

"Were...Were you, just?"

"Uh, um, well..." Keith makes eye-contact with Lance, and cannot read his expression, though it looks somewhat like shock and maybe, curiosity? "Yeah. I was... drawing you."

"Oh."

Every millisecond of quiet after the 'Oh' begins to tear at Keith's heart. He tries desperately to read what Lance is feeling. Confusion? Anger? Disgust? He seems to be showing every emotion at once. But in the same way that mixing every colour only produces black, Lance’s face is showing so many emotions, it’s showing none at all. Keith feels just about ready to pull his hair out.

Lance clears his throat, and Keith's head shoots up. He hadn't even realised that he had begun to stare at the floor.

"C-Can I see it?"

Keith panics, he feels his fingers dig into the leather of his sketchbook. No. Lance can't see, if he sees it he might hate it. He might begin to hate Keith. He might think Keith is even creepier. Weirder. Disgusting.

"Yeah."

Keith's voice is the first part of him to respond, deciding today for some reason, it doesn't want to co-operate with his brain. Though his voice said yes, his hand still has a firm grip on the book as Lance slowly makes his way over.

He stands next to the chair, so he is looking at the book from the same perspective as the flustered artist. Keith reluctantly and shakily opens back up to the page he had been previously working on.

The drawing re-appears, and unlike when he was in the process of making it, all Keith can see now are its flaws. The lines are too heavy, the shading had gone completely wrong, his skill was in no way able to properly display Lance's beauty. Keith hates it, it's trash, it's gross, it’s-

"Wow."

Keith looks up, his face mere inches from Lance’s, and he sees the boy's eyes sparkling at the page. “Um, what?” 

Lance takes a step back from Keith, returning him his personal space. He places a hand on his hip, and makes eye contact with Keith. “What do you mean, what? It’s incredible, I love it.”

Keith blinks. Once, and then one more time before realization hits him like a brick wall. Lance liked it, and didn't think Keith was creepy. Keith feels his heart rate slow, as a calm washes over him, and just as he starts to feel as though he is no longer dying, Lance speaks up again. 

“Keith, can I ask you a question.” 

He nod’s. 

“Well...um.” Lance grabs at his head, playing with the baby hairs at the end of his hairline. “Why… well. Why did you draw me, Keith?” 

Lance nervously plays with his hands. He is seemingly looking at everything and anything that isn't Keith. His face holds the expression of someone who just asked a murderer why they did it. 

Keith racks his brain for an answer that will do. On one hand he could lie. He could tell Lance that he just needed to practice figure drawing, and Lance was there doing nothing so he figured why not. But on the other hand, Keith could attempt to challenge his anxieties and tell Lance the truth. 

Whether it was exhaustion from the crazy day, or the adrenaline from being caught still in his veins, Keith will never know. But he decided that today, he was going to go with option two. 

“Well…” Lance perks up, eyes curious. And then, with a deep breath, 

“It’s because you looked beautiful, Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry about the late upload, finals are coming up and I cant write very frequently :p This summer however, I should hopefully write a lot more :) Thanks for reading, once again comments are super appreciated <3


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